


Family Ties

by EmmaVakarian_Theirin



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-26
Updated: 2016-06-26
Packaged: 2018-07-18 10:25:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7311199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaVakarian_Theirin/pseuds/EmmaVakarian_Theirin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Writing prompt from the wonderful Zendelai for my tumblr giveaway -</p><p>'Alistair and Audra are neighbours who always see each other on morning jogs, and Alistair always admires her and wants to gather up the courage to talk to her (Modern AU)'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family Ties

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zendelai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zendelai/gifts).



> Also posted here: http://emmavakarian-theirin.tumblr.com/post/146514054873/family-ties-working-title
> 
> Based in Australia... for reasons...  
> Audra Cousland belongs to Zendelai

It started off rather innocently.

Once or twice a week, Audra Cousland would go for a jog. On some of those jogs, she would pass Alistair, her next door neighbour. However, despite having moved months ago, it took her weeks to notice this. It wasn’t until she went out to check the mail one day that she noticed him at his door, unlocking it.

Upon passing by her one day during a jog, he decided to stop and properly introduce himself, saying he was too nervous to introduce himself sooner. She waved it off, telling him that she felt the same due to something she had been through recently. After getting to know the basic details of each other, he suggested showing her the best routes and tracks for jogging later in the week, and she happily took his offer.

Eventually, jogging became a routine between the two of them as they got to know each other more, and she would find that each jog got longer and longer. Although it made her body ache, she didn’t mind it so much after a while. He was very sweet, and she couldn’t get enough of his jokes, and his voice did not diminish that one bit. Not to mention he was very easy on the eyes.

Alistair would be lying to himself if he said that he wasn’t at least a little bit drawn to her; with her silvery diamond-like eyes and auburn hair, and her bright smile between her maroonlips. She would always wear her hair up in a bun when jogging, and there were always several locks of hair that would fall down to frame her face before they even started. She was beautiful.

She sat atop her brick fence along the footpath out front, waiting for him. She wore her purple jumper with the hood over her head, providing some warmth from the cold winds, as well as her loose black track pants, giving her some comfort. Unfortunately, she didn’t have any pockets, so she constantly switched between rubbing her hands together and covering her mouth, breathing warm air onto them. She did not like these cold mornings.

Unlike her, Alistair jogged every second day, which was a bit much for her to handle, although she had organised that the days she would go jogging would be the same days as him. She felt somewhat odd at the fact that she had not attempted to meet new people in the neighbourhood, yet at the same time, she was rather happy with how things were. Maybe she didn’t need to meet people in the cliché ways that her romance books and movies portrayed, not that she was really looking for that herself, although such a thought had crossed her mind before regarding him. She smiled into her hands. _Maybe I should give that a break…_

“Hi. ”

Audra almost fell back off of the fence in fright, having been completely oblivious to him standing next to her. “Whoa, hey!” She greeted, regaining her balance. “How are you, this cold, miserable looking morning?” She asked with sarcastic enthusiasm.

He smiled back at her, a hint of a laugh on his breath. “Not bad, actually. Yourself?”

“I’m missing my blankets,” She comments, now sticking her hands underneath her armpits and squeezing them with her arms. “But other than that – pretty good.”

“I’m sure they’re missing you too…” He can’t help but feel guilty, thinking she’s only out here because _she_ feels guilty for _him_. “You can go back to them, if you want. You don’t have to come along if you’d rather not.” He tells her, looking down at his runners as he plays with one along the ground. He doesn’t want her to leave, but if she’s happier to be back in her bed, he’d rather her do that.

“Oh, no, I want to!” She practically shouts, making Alistair snap his head back up to look at her. Composing herself from that outburst, she adds, “It gets me doing something, and I miss the company.”

“You must be desperate for company.” He laughs. All his life, his presence around others had been… tolerable, at best. It was hard to believe it would be anything better.

She looks away sheepishly. He’s the only person she’s really seen since she moved, and she missed her family and friends dearly. “A little… Uh, I didn’t mean it like that!” She suddenly throws her head back up to him and waves her arms in front of her. _Maker, maybe I should have stayed in bed today after all!_ She quickly tries to recover herself, embarrassed by her statement. “You’re great company. I’ve just–”

Now he’s chuckling at her. It was nice to see someone else get flustered for a change. “It’s okay, I know what you mean… And thank you, but I’m sure there are many others more worthy of that than me.”

“I’ve met some of the most ‘respected’ people in the country, and trust me, you’re _much_ better company.” She tried to sound light hearted, but he caught some bitterness in her tone.

“I guess I can see your point.” He answers, looking away.

There’s a moment of silence before Audra breaks it. “So, where to today?” She asks, lifting herself off of the fence and onto the ground.

“I was thinking we try for that new workshop today - ‘Bodahn & Son’?”

They had not gone that far before. At first, she wasn’t sure whether or not to attempt it, but she knew Alistair was not trying to push her to her limits. She could tell he wasn’t that type of person. Deciding to give it a go, she nodded. “We can try, sure.”

And with that, they set off. They never turned their jogging into a competition; reaching their destination was an accomplishment, yet it wasn’t a failure if they didn’t. It was simply a friendly matter of discovering how far they could go. He could go much further without stopping than she could, but never did he insist on pushing forward when she needed to stop. In fact, he insisted on her taking a break when she felt like she needed one.

During their jog, Audra realises she hadn’t noticed what he was wearing. As they jog beside each other, she looks towards him. He wore a navy blue jumper with grey stripes covering the jumper vertically, with a symbol of a griffon in the centre. It takes her a moment to register what it represents - the logo of the local football team; the Grey Wardens.

“You go for the Grey Wardens?”

“I play for them, actually.”

“Really?” She asks, genuinely excited by the idea. Such sports were never a thing someone like her could get into, whether she liked it or not.

“Yeah – or, well, I try to.”

“What do you mean?” _There’s no way he plays badly._

 _“_ The team… they think I’m related to the Prime Minister because apparently I look like him – I don’t – and my uncle is rather close with him. I have ‘family ties,’ they say. And because of that, they either coddle me or are _careless_ around me. I just want to be me without all these ‘family ties’, you kno–?” He immediately stops jogging as he realises what was coming out of his mouth _. Idiot, you really need to think before you speak._ Yet he oddly felt comfortable enough around her to do so, which was rare.

The whole reason she even moved here was because of the loss of her family and home. Her house had burned down one night just a few months ago whilst everyone was sleeping, killing them all, except her. She barely escaped, with burns down the bottom half of her body to prove it. The police had told her it was deliberate, which was not entirely surprising, however they were unable to find the culprit and shut down the investigation. Audra hated to think anyone would want her family dead, but she couldn’t help but to have one particular suspect on her mind – Rendon Howe.

Her father had the potential to become a candidate for Prime Minister for the upcoming election, but so did Howe. The only official candidate at the time was Loghain Mac Tir, who was close to Howe and much more politically involved. With her father now gone, Howe was given an official position. It made sense to assume he was responsible for what happened to her family. But no one would believe her… No one accept Alistair.

He had told her his suspicions on the man; that Loghain seemed to try create some form of traps for Cailan – the current Prime Minister - to fall into which would humiliate him and end his career, but no one else saw it like that. Alistair then pointed out he did not care for politics or know either of them personally, and that it was just his opinion on what he’s heard from Duncan – Alistair’s coach as well as one of Cailan’s bodyguards.

“Ah… I’m sorry. Maker, I’m an ass.” He groans, hiding his face with one of his hands.

“It’s okay. I actually understand where you’re coming from.” She tells him, and it’s the truth.

Alistair’s hand drops from his face, revealing a shocked expression. “You do?” _How can you forgive me for that? You’ve had it so much worse._

She nods, but subtly. “Yeah. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’d happily deal with _actual_ family ties if I could have them back in my life again, but yes. You don’t want to live in the shadows of someone else. You want to make a name for yourself.”

He understands her perspective, although he doesn’t exactly agree with it entirely. In no way does he want to make a name for himself. He hates his reputation enough as it is. He’d almost prefer to be alone. “…Yeah.” He murmurs, not wanting to correct her.

“Could you get into the official league?” She asks after a pause, eager to change the subject.

However, he was just as eager. “Maybe, but I don’t really want to.”

“Oh, you don’t?”

With a shrug of his shoulders, he finally admits. “I don’t want the fame or the glory or any of that. I don’t need that; it’s enough as it is.”

“Huh.” Now she understands. “I can respect that.”

“It doesn’t sound stupid?” He asks, looking at her. It’s not often he’s told his goals are anything other than stupid or whiny of him.

“Why would it?” She questions with a warm smile on her face. She’s seen what fame and glory can do to people in the worst of ways, and she gets why people wouldn’t want it in general. If someone was happy as they were and weren’t harming anybody in the process, why should they be stopped?

And then they were off again, but it wasn’t long until they paused again.

“Wait, hold on a minute.” He pants, coming to a halt.

Audra stops to look at him, although she’s curious as to why _he_ is stopping. “What? You’re…” She finds herself baffled for words just by the sight in front of her.

His hair had become dark and messy from him tugging his jumper off, which he was now trying to shape back into place with pure concentration on his face. While distracted, she gazed over the rest of his body. Her eyes wandering down, she noticed he wore a grey tank top underneath, which now had blotches and lines of sweat down the creases of his abs, causing the top to cling to him and define his masculinity. Her gaze then wandered over his bare arms as they glistened in the light, with beads of sweat trailing and curving around his magnificent muscles. _Maker, now I’m…_

She finishes, and while that was what she was going to say, it now had an unintended meaning, making her blush and fumble at the realisation.

He pauses, hands still in his hair. He can’t help but stare at her, his eyes slightly wider than they were a second ago. “Uhh… yes?” He responds, not entirely sure how to respond at all.

“You’re jumper must be…” Her hands fly about in an attempt to find a decent end to her sentence and not embarrass herself. _How was it hiding all that?_ “…pretty thick.”

“Oh, it is.” He comments as he finishes styling his hair. “Or maybe I’m just too use to running without it.”

 _I definitely have to watch a match of his… or two_. She feels herself getting flustered, but in a way she wasn’t use to. She didn’t even know how to deal with it. Then suddenly, she becomes very self conscious and can’t look at him. Instead, she stares down her own body and feels her stomach churn. She was fit, sure, but that didn’t mean much to her anymore. _What man would ever see my bare skin and look me up and down the same way I just did Alistair?… Maker, what have I become?_

Alistair, on the other hand, finds himself unable to move. He’s noticed this sudden change in her, and he’s lost. All he wants to do is… make her feel better. But how? He’s never been good with words. Jocularity was his thing. Everything else he either dealt with himself, or was his fault. Sometimes both. But jokes didn’t seem like they would work this time. He had to do _something_.

“Audra, if you don’t mind me saying…” He can hardly think straight as he forces the words out. _Here we go. Just be honest._ “I think you’re…” _Beautiful. Ravishing. Wise. Selfless._ Several things come to mind, yet he can’t spit out one. “…incredible.” _Lame. She deserved better than that, at least._ Trying not to play with his fingers or his hair, and failing, he takes a deep breath before trying again _._ “You’ve gone through so much this year and I’ve never seen you break even slightly, or even complain even after all the complaining I do. I mean I know we haven’t known each other for very long or really seen each other outside of this but…” They lock eyes, and he almost forgets what he was even doing, but he pushes forward. “What I’m _trying_ to say is I think you’re very…” _Do it!_ “…brave.” He sighs, annoyed with himself that that’s all he could say.

Audra gapes at him for a second, and then her hands fly to her mouth in attempt to cover a sob, but it doesn’t work. He hears it, and then he sees her eyes redden as they well up with tears and clench shut. _What have I done?!_

He just about leaps in front of her, hands waving about wildly. “Oh, no! I didn’t mean to–! I’m sorry, I just wanted to–”

“No, it’s…” She shakes her head and waves an arm, trying to collect herself and gather her voice. “I’ve needed to hear that… Thank you.” She whispers, a thankful smile on her face as she opens her eyes.

He considers reaching out to her for a hug, but he’s unsure. He can’t remember the last time he was ever hugged. _Would it be weird? I don’t want to freak her out… But she doesn’t have anyone else_. He finally decides to cautiously extend his arms, but then he remembers – _I’m covered in sweat and I stink_ – so he pulls his arms back, but then suddenly she’s pressed against him with her arms around him tightly.

Despite the stench and moisture now shared between the two of them, it was a welcomed feeling. She had stopped crying, which was a bonus for the both of them. Alistair didn’t know when to let go, nor did he want to. He felt… special; better than he’s ever felt in his entire life, and while she’s received loving hugs many times in her life, she feels the same.

_Could this be…?_

“You know, if you need someone to talk to, I am right next door.” He tells her, watching the top of her head.

“Maybe…” She reluctantly pulls away to look at him, and they both already sorely miss the feeling. “…we could do something one day? Instead of jogging?”

“Like swimming? Or running?” He jokes, raising an eyebrow at her.

She nervously looks away as she laughs at him. _Are we really doing this?… What exactly is this? Is it something? Is he just trying to make me blush?… Is he deflecting it? Is this his way of saying no before it’s even officially sugges–_

“I like the sound of that.” He tells her with a comforting smile before he begins to fumble with his hands and over his words. “Hey, uh… maybe you could come to the game tomorrow? If you want, that is. You don’t have to. I get that you don’t really wa–”

“I like the sound of that.” She answers back with a just as comforting smile.

Before he could let his mouth ramble more and say something that would surely embarrass him, he nods at her then returns to jogging, and Audra happily follows suit. Neither of them could wipe the smile off of their faces for the rest of their jog, not even when they went much further than their destination without even noticing.

**Author's Note:**

> AFL: Australian Football League  
> I thought of AFL clothing whilst trying to picture Alistair in a jogging outfit, and I think you’ll understand just why I had to base it in Australia when all the players wear is this: https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2014-03/enhanced/webdr02/13/22/enhanced-buzz-23337-1394762698-8.jpg  
> ;)
> 
> I might eventually add more to this...


End file.
